The present invention relates to a telescoping mechanism thst permits the seat belt buckle to be stored below floor level and when in normal operation raises the seat belt buckle to a sufficient height to permit a vehicle occupant to easily insert an associated tongue within the buckle.
Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2 which illustrate the prior art seat belt mechanism. FIG. 1 illustrates a rear seating configuration for a vehicle with the seat cushion 20 and seat back 22 shown in phantom line. A seat belt buckle of known variety is secured to a link 26 pivoted about point 27. A torsion spring is also provided at location 27. In order to obtain a greater amount of storage room at the rear of a vehicle, the cushion 20 and seat back 22 can be moved forwardly (see FIG. 2) by known mechanisms which are not part of the present invention. Thereafter, a flap 28 is rotated in the direction of arrow 29, such rotation engages the seat belt buckle and link 26 and rotates both downwardly such that they can be stored within a compartment 30 below the level of the floor 23 in the rear portion of the vehicle. When the flap 28 is rotated from its position shown in FIG. 2 to its position shown in FIG. 1, the spring associated with the link 26 and pivot 27 urges the buckle upwardly. One deficiency of this arrangement is that the size of the compartment 30 restricts the overall length of the link and buckle such that, when in normal operation, the buckle barely reaches the top part of the cushion. This type of configuration makes it rather cumbersome for the vehicle user to secure the tongue portion of the seat belt to the buckle.
Accordingly, the invention comprises: a telescoping seat belt device comprising: a support; and a buckle plate for supporting a seat belt buckle; and a pivoting and sliding mechanism for telescopically moving the buckle plate and a buckle from an extended position to a stowed position. The mechanism includes an activation bar rotationally mounted on the support and a slide link pivotally supported at one end on the first pivot; a second link rotatably secured to the second pivot, wherein the buckle plate is slidable on the slide link from a first position to a second position, and wherein the second link is connected to the buckle plate such that the buckle plate moves on the slide link in response to the movement of the second link. A first spring joins the activator bar and the second link coupling the motion of the activator bar to the second link such that in response to the movement of the activator bar the first spring urges the second link to rotate towards the first pivot such motion causing the buckle plate to slide toward the second position along the slide link, wherein as the buckle plate moves toward the second position the slide link is caused to rotate toward the second pivot carrying the buckle plate with it and moving the buckle to the stowed position. A second and more compact telescoping mechanism is also disclosed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat belt mechanism that improves upon the deficiencies of the prior art. A further object of the present invention is to provide a telescoping seat belt mechanism and one which may be stored within a compartment, such compartment typically being below the level of floor of a vehicle.
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.